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Get someone to show you how to put a vid in dropbox or on youtube or something - we wanna hear it! Congrats.
Link to a start (yes the fancy exhaust prior to removed mufflers really knocks down the sound - clearly I need electronic dumps at some point. That said, the actual sound in person is quite healthy as compared to my iPhone digitally recording sound.
Also, I was BARELY touching the throttle - it’s Uhmm rev happy so I’m being gingerly at this time.
I zipped the throttle up to 3800 ish a few times just trying to add rpm to idle it high... it’s very strong feeling and sounding.
Today, I’ll shim that Alternator differently to line up Serpentine belt and fix intake rib on pulley - and wire up fan and insure I have control of it.
Id like to push clutch in and feel it move properly on its own... today
Good stuff! Like the gauge-needle-sweep on ignition on. My old Subaru used to do that. Just replaced a windshield in mine. Digging out 30 year old butyl is just plain fun.
Yesterday, started car, depressed clutch pedal, found 1st gear, released clutch pedal, car rolled out to driveway - I pumped the brakes a few times, flipped my Special switch to activate my SLP line lock, did a walk around idle video
This is all just baaaarely touching throttle.
(I’m not trying to be rev happy)
Today, I’ll reset my IAC and adj throttle plate as per Fitech instructions again - and get it to idle properly.
My serpentine belt keeps walking one rib fwd dude to Alternator bracketry and spacers / shims etc - I’ll try again to find magic combo - parallel of pulleys sure looked correct as per my straight edge - hmm... I’ll get it.
A few weeks ago, I finally committed to getting on SpeedHut website and custom creating the nice stepper-motored, custom-programmable/ created fuel level gauges.
My BMW OE saddle tank has “two sides” where center of tank straddles the driveshaft. My drvr side pump feeds to pass side pump. The pass side pump is a new Deatchwerks pump said to handle more power than I’ll make - it feeds the returnless fuel rail by was of my C5 fuel filter/58psi reg (which returns unused fuel back to top of the driver side pump... and thus and so. I have two separate circuits, one for each fuel pump. Now with my dual SpeedHut gauges wired and calibrated for my BMW fuel pump housing fuel level sensors, I can exactly monitor how much fuel is on either side.
Inside the pass side of tank is a little square “bucket” with a maze leading to center so fuel can get to bottom of primary pump to pick up fuel etc.obviously top of bucket is open so a higher level of fuel floods over top of 1.5” tall open bucket.
The two segments of the tank and not fully apart - the upper middle joins, plus I concocted a gravity feed from drvr side in to the pass side fuel “bucket”.
I have proven I can cross-feed fuel from Drvr to Pass side - similar to how airplanes can cross-feed for their purposes.
Hey, dumb or not, it’s fully thought out and it looks like I can real-time monitor each side of fuel tank and can ensure the bigger engine-feed pump will ‘always’ have fuel under it.
Custom x everything!!! MUL8NO1 Creative process - think - measure - buy - drill - finagle... my daughter actually did the entire mock up and ensured the gauges were within a smart field of vision for the driver. This pic does this set up no justice... I’ll take one of my fancy pics soon ... to help me sleep at night!!! It was great fun customizing these SpeedHut gauges. They allow you to fully select each facet of you gauge... so I did - and used an SCCA discount code and only paid like $165 shipped for both custom gauges... well that’s a no brainer!!! #MUL8NO1 No, the gauges are not slanted - they are bubble level, the fabricated dash panel has now been painted (with blk chalkboard paint... so I can write notes to myself... or have kids wish daddy luck) - pics of that soon.
Wanna ride :-) oh, I gotta get another seat set up first!
But I can tell you how many times I’ve made myself SICK from stressing about this and this and that.... like, near pukage many times - it’s fair to say that this, apart from other education and experience, has brought its own unique challenge to stave off analysis paralysis - an especially difficult feat when you literally don’t know what you are doing... but have the personal expectation to create something great (safe, fun, unique, personal, diy-in-a-garage-style). This car from tip to bottom really is as ‘nice’ in person as it looks like it might be —-> try working on something like that!!!
Anyhoo - my today to-do list didn’t get done - kid matters prevailed. I have doors, and hood, and hatch, etc in various places in the home - polished and ready to install - but I’m in no hurry for that - this serpentine belt waking fwd one rib issue has got to be my number one fix tomorrow.
Thx again Ya’ll for caring to invest your interest in this creation... Yes, I need to get it ‘done’ already.
At some point, I just had to try... And try And stage
I’m not messy... but this got a bit messy - spread stuff out in stages and sift through it The seals need time breathing and heat and more to take OE shape - but for now, I have to clean and install what I had Shiny... and not too bad - Progress.. I need a special pin-bolt to finish securing the door handle assy... then I can add new rubber and handle covers
Originally Posted by Michael Yount
Well, what happened?
Just as I vowed “in sickness and in health” with my spouse, so have I done with this little BMW hatch.
To begin, UHMM, is it really March 2019?!?!
Ive just looked up (by way of nice inquiry above) and realize that 4.5 months have past since my last update.
The last time I started this vehicle was to move it from Single car garage to the larger garage - traded in two cars for wifey to get X3 M Sport for biz lease... to park/use single-car garage exclusively... please let me know if you can successfully view video link copied below.
This winter has been 1 of 4 family members alternating sickness - coupled with coldness in larger garage (was easy to warm up single-car garage with 2 space heaters), I’ve not done any work - until last week.
I pulled all weather stripping/seals/etc from a big box, cleaned and inspected every mm and installed. Then hung doors by was of box-of-parts saved from 7-8yrs ago when doors were removed... the one-man show is back in action. Then cleaned and I stalled side glass, side M Mirrors, door handle assemblies, door strikers, etc (whatever these parts are called. Slow and steady and smart got it done - zero damage thus far and doors open fully without buckling the front fenders etc... it all looks close. I gutted the CaliTop sunroof frame and installed its seal and mounted it - I’ll have to make it so that I can swap lexan for sheet metal for race legal apparently.
Sorry ya’ll... I totally forgot all of what I’ve done as for buying New Conti Grand Am tires from Hoosier Tires website (Continental bought Hoosier a few years ago if u didn’t know).
In my single-Car garage I modified my Sams Club beefy rack to house 16 wheels tires - pics show the details - this black car looks much more “purposed” with a set of track wheels/tires... please let me know ur thoughts
Last edited by MUL8NO1; 03-15-2019 at 12:21 PM.
Reason: Good grief - my awesome pics and lengthy detailed descriptions not attached
I DID just attempt to really explain my wheels / tires sizing etc... with my response above - and ‘smart’ phone or LS site eradicated it all
I bought 16 New tires from Hoosier website last fall - the internet couldn’t ensure me real word sizes so I bought 3 sets:
1. 225 45 18
2. 265 645 18
3. 305 650 18
The 225 are cheater wide and used in Grand Am ST class.
The 265 and 305 widths are used on Porsche GT4 Grand Am Cars and fitted to 18x9 front wheels and 18x10 rears.
After all in my possession and seeing what’s real - the 225 on a 9” rim I nearly 10” wide for front set up... and the 265 width on my 10” wide rim is fine for rear.
I did mount those 305’s on my 18x10” rims as well as 265’s on 10” rims - and made direct comparison to see what will work and is smartest ay forward. Ehhhhh, the 305 fits and was fun and neat and awesome to smile at - but the 305’s need sold to a guy with more fender than my modest widening on this Blk 318ti hatchback.
10" is right on the edge of not being wide enough to properly "support" the 305 anyhow....
"....ur thoughts" -- well, if primarily a track toy, why not track tires? Might as well give it as much stick as it can handle.
Through conferring with Hoosier engineers, the sidewall is supposed to not have a rim protector like a ‘normal race tire’ and so the tire works best with the “pinched” look - the 305 looked like a NASCAR TIRES/wheels .
anyway, I’m not gonna rim the 305 650 no matter wgat
the power will just have to be patient
I’ll be happy to just drive it and get it to function safely etc...
fresh oil today and start again again once I fully adjust and shut doors
Through conferring with Hoosier engineers, the sidewall is supposed to not have a rim protector
Wasn't suggesting that -- the 'general' rule of thumb is the wheel should be no less than 2" narrower than the section width of the tire. 305 = 12.01". 12-2=10. Hence "right on the edge..."
Side M mouldings next... Yeah, door handle etc on both sides now... Not bad given my cluelessness.
Originally Posted by Michael Yount
Wasn't suggesting that -- the 'general' rule of thumb is the wheel should be no less than 2" narrower than the section width of the tire. 305 = 12.01". 12-2=10. Hence "right on the edge..."
The purchase (now 16 new Grand Am Series Tires for two of my 318ti’s) was tough given Internet knowledge... I didn’t believe given my experience that the 305 650 18 was used on an 18x10 on the Porsche GT4... but every spec showed that the case... the “squeeze” of that non-dot Conti on to the 10” wide rim sure looked awkward, so I had to call Hoosier.
If this car didn’t already have so much body work and paint completed, I’d have made additional provisions to make the wide and 3/4” too tall tire fit in back - it was very beefy looking...
The plan will be to just choose the best non-dot slick compound for the chassis, purpose, conditions and keep temps in operating range... good news is I won’t have that wide profile of massive wind and rolling friction resistance slowing car down. And given how well my Silver Ti now turns in, I’ll be spending most of each corner giving steering back - so less time steering equals less need for straight up mechanical wide-tire grip.
That said, I see an autox will be a handful with only 9” x 2 of tire up front and 10” x 2 in rear - I’ll just think skinny thoughts and steer as little as possible!!!
Still remember my SCCA days - I was wheel width limited by rules, and had to run DOT tires. But I discovered my little ITC car was actually quicker on 185 section tires than on 205's - combination of a better match with my limited wheel width and being able to get more heat into the smaller section tire.
10-10-2018, 12:19 PM
Good “vibes”... 
